The European Union is investigating a possible violation of EU digital rules by Telegram. He writes about it Financial Times.
EU rights and data experts suspect that Telegram is deliberately understating its number of users in the EU to avoid exceeding the 45 million user threshold. Platforms that exceed this threshold are subject to stricter Brussels rules governing their influence.
The inspection of Telegram coincides with the arrest of its founder Pavel Durov in France. In February, Telegram said it had 41 million users in the EU, but this month, as required by the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the company failed to provide an updated figure, only reporting “well below the 45 million average monthly active users in the EU”.
Failure to comply with this requirement could indicate a violation of the DSA, and it is likely that the investigation will show that Telegram exceeded the threshold for “very large online platforms.” Such platforms have major obligations regarding legislation, content moderation, independent audits and data sharing with the European Commission.
At the beginning of the year, Pavlo Durov noted that the number of Telegram users roughly corresponds to the population of every region except China. The European Data and Science Service is currently conducting a technical investigation to establish the real number of Telegram users in the EU. According to the representative of the Digital Affairs Commission, Thomas Rainier, they have the ability to independently determine the accuracy of the data and, if necessary, classify Telegram as a very large platform.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an EU regulation aimed at ensuring the safety of online services and making platforms more accountable for the content they share. DSA provides for the removal of illegal content, transparency of algorithms, control of advertising, protection of minors, accountability of large platforms, regular audits, and provision of mechanisms for users to challenge decisions.
This law is designed to increase the accountability of online platforms and create a safer and more transparent digital environment for users in the EU
